Caribou P/U campers

[ray1933]

I'm thinking of getting another camper to use for fishing trips and have found a 1996 10 foot that looks from the pictures to be in great shape.

I'm told it has never had any leaks and every thing , fridge and such works good.

It is a days drive for me and plan to go down in about a week to look it over real good. What should I pay attention to when checking it out??



I plan to have them turn the fridge on a couple days before and water in the system so I can check for water lines leaks and such.



Prior to getting our 5th wheel we hauled P/U campers for 36 plus years but always a 10 ft Lance or Alpenlite.





Would like opinions on the Caribou.

 

[HBarlow]

I've owned a couple of older cheap used slide-in truck campers in recent years. The most common problem in most of them is water leaks have rotted and weakened the structure which wasn't too strong to begin with in many of them.

They often leak around the fixed front cabover window, all the jalousie windows, and around the rear entry door. You should be able to detect any leak damage with a careful visual inspection. The worst structural damage I've seen in an older slide-in was in the side overhangs. I've seen them rotted so bad the camper jacks couldn't support the camper.

Who made the Caribou brand?... ..... Fleetwood?

 

[ray1933]

I've owned a couple of older cheap used slide-in truck campers in recent years. The most common problem in most of them is water leaks have rotted and weakened the structure which wasn't too strong to begin with in many of them.



They often leak around the fixed front cabover window, all the jalousie windows, and around the rear entry door. You should be able to detect any leak damage with a careful visual inspection. The worst structural damage I've seen in an older slide-in was in the side overhangs. I've seen them rotted so bad the camper jacks couldn't support the camper.



Who made the Caribou brand?... ..... Fleetwood?

Yes Harvey, it was made by Fleetwood.

Thanks much for the pointers and they are on my check list of things to look for.

I have two friends that own RV repair shops and they both told me ways to detect things that are not clearly visible.



It has fiberglass siding and the rubber type roof so that is better than the metal covered ones.



Will let you know how it turns out.

 

[Grizzly]

Fleetwood has never been known for producing quality RV's. The last truck camper made by Fleetwood under the name of Caribou was in 2002, so finding parts could be a problem.



Since you have had a Lance camper, you know of their quality and durability. I'd stick to that brand or get an Arctic Fox, both of which are 4 star rated. Host is also 4 star rated and I understand a good camper. Northern Lite is the only 5 star rated truck camper.



A wood frame RV in itself is not a bad thing if it's built right and well sealed. I had a Lance wood frame camper for 10 years and never had a problem with anything except for the Domatic refrigerator, which was fixed on a recall.

 

[ray1933]

Fleetwood has never been known for producing quality RV's. The last truck camper made by Fleetwood under the name of Caribou was in 2002, so finding parts could be a problem.



<<<Grizzly,, I have never been keen on Fleetwood products either. The two RV repair shops I spoke of in my reply to Barlow both felt the Caribou early models like the 96 I'm going to look at were better quality than the latter ones. >>> As far as parts go, really do not think that will be a problem as so many windows, doors, water heaters and such can be used or made to fit. :-laf



Since you have had a Lance camper, you know of their quality and durability. I'd stick to that brand or get an Arctic Fox, both of which are 4 star rated. Host is also 4 star rated and I understand a good camper. Northern Lite is the only 5 star rated truck camper.





<< Yes indeed the Lance is great and love the new floor plans they have and the Arctic Fox is top of the line. Their plant is just elven miles from my house and have toured it a few times to see how well they do things.



The man that owns Northwood homes , used to be plant manager at the Fleetwood plant before he built his own plant and started kicking butt in the RV world with the Arctic Fox. Desert Fox and Nash units



He just purchased the old Fleetwood plant for 2 million and is building a unit called True North designed for use in cold weather and such



We are just looking for a GOOD used low priced camper to set along side the 5th wheel to use for fishing trips and such. The prices for the new Campers now days are more than I want to put out at this time in my life.



More than all of you wanted to know I guess but thanks for all the information. .

 

[ray1933]

Caribou P/U camper

I had the owner take some more close up pictures of the front of the Cabover and the rear on the left side of the door down below the seam where the trim went across as I thought I could see waves in the skin from the first photos he sent me. The close up pictures made me decide it was not worth a two day trip down and back to look at it.



We are going to check and see what kind of a deal we can make on a latter model at a dealer.

 

[HBarlow]

The Pacific Northwest is an area with more old slide-in truck campers than all of the other states combined. I would think if you wait and look patiently in classified ads in WA, OR, and ID for a couple months you should be able to find a good one at a fair price. Unfortunately, my experience has been that wood rot as a result of water entry is pretty common in most older slide-ins.

 

[Grizzly]

ray1933, I don't know how far you are from Grants Pass, OR, but there's an excellent Lance Dealer there called Caveman RV. I've had great experience with them. See link.

 

[ray1933]

P/U Campers

ray1933, I don't know how far you are from Grants Pass, OR, but there's an excellent Lance Dealer there called Caveman RV. I've had great experience with them. See link.

Grizzly

About a days drive from Grants Pass. We have decided that we are going to work with the dealer a hours drive from us that we purchased our 5th wheel from. They have the Arctic Fox and we are going to ask them to let us know if they get a good used 10 footer W/slide in trade,, if not by spring, will see what we can work out on a New one.

Do not do any hauling in the winter anymore.



Thanks for the information.

 

[Grizzly]

Grizzly

About a days drive from Grants Pass. We have decided that we are going to work with the dealer a hours drive from us that we purchased our 5th wheel from. They have the Arctic Fox and we are going to ask them to let us know if they get a good used 10 footer W/slide in trade,, if not by spring, will see what we can work out on a New one.

Do not do any hauling in the winter anymore.



Thanks for the information.

Sounds like your on the right track and your being patient. That's good.



george

 

[bheiting]

ray1933
I would urge you to read the book "How to Select, Inspect, and Buy an RV" by
RV industry consultant JD Gallant. Because anyone and their brother can make and
sell RVs, it's always good to get advice from an expert.
Best of luck in your purchase.